Trump shrugs off Romney’s attack

02/01/2019

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Mr Trump (left) and Mr Romney have had an uneasy relationship Donald Trump has shrugged off a stinging personal attack on his presidency from senior fellow Republican Mitt Romney.Mr Romney, who stood and lost for the Republicans against Barack Obama in 2012, suggested in an article that Mr Trump…

Here we go with Mitt Romney, but so fast! Question will be, is he a Flake? I hope not. Would much prefer that Mitt focus on Border Security and so many other things where he can be helpful. I won big, and he didn’t. He should be happy for all Republicans. Be a TEAM player & WIN!

The timing of the article, just two days before Mr Romney is sworn in as senator for Utah, has prompted some to speculate he is positioning himself as a challenger to Mr Trump for the Republican presidential nomination.

But he went on to say: “With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring.”

Mr Romney said he would support the president in policies he thought were in the best interests of Utah or the US but speak out against actions “that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions”.

“The appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the president’s thoughtless claim that America has long been a ‘sucker’ in world affairs all defined his presidency down,” he wrote.

“Trump’s words and actions have caused dismay around the world.”

The world “needs American leadership”, he argued, and “the alternative… offered by China and Russia is autocratic, corrupt and brutal”.

How have others reacted?

Mr Romney’s article has been widely discussed and covered across US media. Several outlets suggested that Mr Romney was positioning himself to be Mr Trump’s leading critic in Congress.

What @MittRomney either fails to realize or hopes that we do is that Trump’s wretched character is not the primary crisis that we all face. The president’s policies—many of which Romney praises here, along with his judicial appointments—do the most damage. https://t.co/rC0sClU0CK

I get the skepticism over Romney, but we keep demanding R’s speak out against Trump, and he just did. It matters, he should be applauded for it, and I wish more would join him. Now let’s see what he does in the Senate.

Mitt Romney really could have written that at any time, but he waited till after the election and only a few days before his swearing in. He has really mastered senatorial behavior and will fit in fine.

What kind of relationship do the two men have?

A complicated one. During the 2016 campaign, Mr Romney said Mr Trump had neither “the temperament nor the judgement to be president” while Mr Trump called Mr Romney a “choke artist” and called his bid for the presidency in 2012 “the worst ever”.

When the US Congress reconvenes on Thursday, Mr Trump faces a new challenge on the domestic front – in November’s mid-terms the Republicans strengthened their hold of the Senate but lost the House of Representatives.